Meet Maeve Haber | Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maeve Haber and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maeve, what do you attribute your success to?
I try to depict girlhood in a relatable way so young women, especially queer women like myself, who didn’t get the chance to express themselves in the way they wanted growing up, can embrace their nostalgia and femininity. I hope other young women and queer people can relate to my art and use it to experience missing pieces of their adolescence. Deciding to depict hyper-femininity is important to me since, growing up, I was often told girly things were frivolous. Teenage girls are usually the butt of the joke in society and told their interests are silly or stupid. I want to show that girlhood is beautiful and important through celebrating femininity. Even though I make all types of art for my schoolwork as an illustration major, I keep my online presence consistent with the themes of nostalgia and feminity that I’m trying to portray through my brand. I’ve grown a following by making myself known for that specific style and aesthetic. 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started posting my art online in 2021. I only had around 700 to 1,000 followers until one of my pieces blew up last year. It was a drawing of three girls taking the subway on a night out in NYC. I was born and raised in Brooklyn but moved to LA for art school in 2023. I drew the piece when I was missing New York. As someone who’s only lived in major cities such as New York and LA, I’m very drawn to the character and magic of city nightlife. I think the post gained traction because people related to the girls in the drawing and were drawn to the authentic depiction of NYC. Also, being in high school during the pandemic, my generation missed many essential teenage experiences. By drawing them, I can give myself and others the adolescence they missed out on. My drawings are time capsules to important places and memories with friends. I think others see them and can feel a sort of second-hand nostalgia. I often get comments from girls tagging their friends saying, “This is us!” or “This looks just like you!” which makes me so happy that my art can resonate. Though I’m still a student and my career is just beginning after that piece snowballed, I was able to build my online art presence. I think attention to detail is also very important. Most of my comments are people pointing out little details, from my character’s outfits to a piece of graffiti in the background. People like finding the easter eggs. Overall, the most important thing to me about the narrative in my illustrations is that they positively depict girlhood and nostalgia.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Since I moved to LA a few years ago, I’ve loved it so much, and almost all the friends I’ve made were born and raised here, so they’ve shown me so many fun places. My favorite place in LA is Little Tokyo; it has an amazing history. In Little Tokyo, I would start at Rice and Nori for lunch. It’s an onigiri restaurant that sells the best onigiri I’ve ever had; then, I would walk down the street to Fugetsu-do for dessert. It’s a family-owned mochi bakery that’s been around since 1903. You can customize your own box of mochi; it’s both pretty and delicious. The shopping in Little Tokyo is also great; some of my favorites are Monkey Pants, a Japanese collectible store with so many cute one-of-a-kind trinkets, and Kools, a rockabilly shop with unique clothing pieces and accessories. Also, downtown, I love going to The Smell, which has punk shows every week. I also love attending Rocky Horror midnight showings and roller derby bouts at the LA Derby Dolls. I was an art vendor at one of their bouts, and it was such a great experience; I’m a huge roller derby fan, and the Derby Dolls are a fantastic league.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My illustration professor, JT Steiny  (@jtsteiny on Instagram), has been my biggest mentor. His art is unique and hilarious. He encourages me and his other students to be ourselves and as weird as possible. I took his comic book class last year, during which I made my first graphic novel. I’d always wanted to make a graphic novel, but that opportunity and encouragement gave me the push I needed. Since I’ve gotten more into the indie comic artists scene in LA,  it opened my mind to a path of careers I didn’t know was possible. JT invited me and a few classmates to join his booth at LA Zine Fest this year and even sell our own zines and merchandise alongside him. I was unaware of the LA zine community until this, and it was an amazing experience. I met so many artists. I made so many connections by trading zines with fellow illustrators, and now I regularly make zines thanks to JT.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carrot_c4ke/